


Black Cat: The Next Mark

by d0d0bird



Series: Marvel: Tales to Tantalize! [4]
Category: Black Cat (Comics), Marvel, Silver Sable and the Wild Pack, The Incredible Hulk (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Betty Ross, Bisexual Bruce Banner, Break Up, Bruce Banner Angst, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bullying, Cuckolding, Emasculation, Embarrassed Bruce Banner, Embarrassment, Everyone Is Gay, Evil Felicia Hardy, Felicia Hardy Flirts, Glenn Talbot Being an Asshole, Heartbreak, Humiliation, Hurt, Hurt Bruce Banner, Hurt No Comfort, Impotence, Insecure Bruce Banner, Love Triangles, Multi, POV Bruce Banner, POV Felicia Hardy, Partner Betrayal, Poor Bruce Banner, Rejection, Sexual Shaming, Situational Humiliation, Social Humiliation, Some Humor, Teasing, Verbal Abuse, and they were ROOMMATES, oh my god they were roommates, scientist bruce banner, wedgie, wedgies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 17:08:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20970062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d0d0bird/pseuds/d0d0bird
Summary: Felicia Hardy and Silver Sable need something from Bruce Banner, so they go undercover at his place of work to get it.What follows shows just how much humiliation and emasculation can test his anger management.





	Black Cat: The Next Mark

Felicia looked down at the number scribbled on the envelope in her hand and then back up at the room number on the door. They matched. This was the place. Felicia opened the envelope, pulled out the room key card inside, and placed it on the electronic lock. It beeped and flashed a green light as she heard the door unlock. Resting her hand on the taser on her belt, Felicia slowly opened the door and walked into the room.

“Hardy,” said Silver curtly, “You’re late.”

The hotel room was higher end than Felicia was used to. It wasn’t quite luxury, but the beds were large and there was a nice desk that could be used as a workstation. Silver sat there on her laptop. She was a tall and muscular woman. Rather than the tactical uniform she had been wearing when Felicia met her, Silver was now wearing white jeans, black boots, and a silver blouse that complimented her platinum blonde hair.

“Sorry,” said Felicia insincerely, “but in my line of work it pays to work on my own schedule.”

“In OUR line of work, Hardy,” said Silver, closing her laptop and finally looking at her, “and for this job you’re going to have to put an end to that practice.”

“And what, be more like a mercenary?”

Silver narrowed her eyes. Felicia had done her research on Silver and she could tell. Silver was indeed a mercenary. Felicia had presumed that “Silver Sable” was a pseudonym, but she couldn’t find any records to corroborate that. There was a lot about her that no one knew, but her reputation as a cold professional reached almost all Felicia’s contacts in the industry.

“Regardless,” continued Silver after a short pause, returning to her laptop, “The completion of your payment is contingent on my approval of your performance, so I suggest you adapt promptly.”

Felicia let out a sigh and tossed her purse beside the bed and threw herself onto it, kicking off her boots. It had been a long drive to get from New York to Pennsylvania. She had been wearing those tight boots the whole time and her feet were killing her. She yawned loudly and flexed her toes in relief. Silver furrowed her brow in disapproval, but said nothing.

“So what’s the job?” asked Felicia.

Silver pulled a small drive out of her laptop, walked over to the television, attached the drive there, and turned on the screen. It now displayed a screenshot from the website of a research group called _Gamma Futures_.

“This is Gamma Futures,” said Silver as she returned to her laptop, “A research group founded by Glenn Talbot. You may recognize his name. Talbot has a number of connections to both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. military. Unsurprisingly, he has received a disproportionate amount of government funding for his program. It is quickly becoming one of the big names in the energy industry. My client -our client-, is extremely interested in the technology developed by Gamma Futures. Specifically this:”

Silver clicked a button on her laptop. The screen changed to display a list of complex formulas with entire sections missing or filled with question marks. Felicia couldn’t make heads or tails of what any of it meant.

“Our client believes that the missing aspect to these formulas is in Gamma Future’s digital files,” Silver continued, “but their cyber security is top notch. Everything is kept on on-site servers and use of the public Internet is kept to a stringent limit.”

“Just like Oscorp,” realized Felicia out loud.

“You’re beginning to see why you’re my candidate of choice here*,” said Silver.

*See why yourself in [Jessica Jones and Spider-Man: Crossed Your Path](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20910803)

“You said cyber security was tight,” said Felicia, standing up as her interest in the mission grew, “How about onsite?”

“Also tight, even internally,” said Silver, clicking her laptop again and changing the screen to a complex daily schedule and office map, “The employees don’t even have access to each other’s data. Unless you know someone’s password AND have their ID card, there’s no way to access the data onsite either.”

“So we need to get close to one of their employees,” nodded Felicia.

“Now you’re seeing the other reason you’re my candidate of choice,” said Silver.

“Who’s the mark?”

“He goes by David Bennett,” said Silver, clicking to the next screen.

Felicia looked at the man in the profile before her. He was a scrawny young man wearing a large pair of glasses. His detailed history was surprisingly sparse and clean. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“Seems easy enough,” said Felicia.

“There’s one more thing...” said Silver ominously.

“What’s that?”

“David Bennett is a fake identity provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. His real name is Bruce Banner.”

Felicia stared at Silver in disbelief.

***

Bruce Banner crossed out the number “99” in his notebook and replaced it with a “100,” smiling with pride. He had gone as many days without an unintended transformation. That was incredible progress. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had offered him a new life and identity following his last incident, he had begun working hard on it. It wasn’t easy.

“Is that work related, Bennett?”

Brucer sat up in a surprised jolt as his boss leaned over his shoulder. His heart rate spiked, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to slow it. He didn’t like being surprised like that. Any adrenaline rush posed a risk. Banner composed himself and adjusted his glasses before calmly and turning to look at Glenn.

Glenn Talbot was a military man first and foremost, and it read in his posture. He stood alarmingly straight with his hands tightly folded behind his back. His stoic face glared down at Bruce silently, waiting for a response.

“No,” admitted Bruce, “Sorry, this is… personal.”

“What is it?”

“I, um…” began Bruce, too nervous to refuse but too scared to answer.

“Bennett!” barked Glenn impatiently.

“Anger management!” Bruce blurted out, unable to think of a better lie, “I’m… uh… counting the days since my last angry outburst.”

“Will this affect your work performance?”

“No.”

“Well then see to it that you not use company time on the matter.”

“Right.”

“Carry on.”

Bruce hunched anxiously as he watched Glenn walk diligently back to his office. The moment the door closed he let out a sigh of relief and returned his attention to his computer. He swiped his ID on the side of the monitor, typed in his password, and got to work.

Banner has been relocated to Alfaro, Pennsylvania about 3 months ago. S.H.I.E.L.D. had set him up with this job and an apartment, as well as the new identity of David Bennett. This job was the reason this town was chosen. It consisted entirely of theoretical research on gamma radiation. Bruce was an expert in the subject and the theoretical nature of the research minimized the risk of an incident. The only drawback to the job was Talbot.

“Sorry about him,” said Betty as she walked over to Bruce’s desk.

“Not your fault,” smiled Bruce back.

“It kind of is,” said Betty, leaning against the desk, “He only treats you that way because of me.”

Bruce nodded. It was true. Betty and Glenn had dated, but she had broken up with him shortly after Gamma Futures was founded. The awkward office environment only got more uncomfortable when Betty began dating Bruce, or as they knew him, David Bennett.

Betty was a composed and calm woman. She seemed to have a perpetual gentle look on her face, which had drawn Bruce in from the start.

“Hey,” said Bruce, “I still need to get these numbers over to Karl. Wanna do Lou’s for lunch?”

“Sounds good,” she smiled back, kissing him on top of the head and walking off. 

Bruce looked at the spinning icon on his computer screen and figured that now was as good a time as ever to grab some coffee. He slid his ID on the computer again, turning the monitor off and locking it. It was standard protocol in the office to lock all computers whenever they weren’t in direct use. Bruce returned minutes later with his coffee. He always drank decaf, just to be safe. He was surprised to see Glenn standing at his desk with two women he didn’t recognize. 

“Bennett, where were you?” demanded Glenn.

“Coffee,” said Bruce calmly, “I was only away for a minute, I promise.”

“So you say,” muttered Glenn unhappily, before gesturing to the two women, “These young ladies are Ms. Bianca Lining and Ms. Catherine Black. Ms. Lining will be joining our security team and Ms. Black will be working in the finance department.”

“Pleased to meet you,” smiled Bruce, shaking each of their hands.

“Call me Cat,” smiled Catherine.

“They said they have some questions for you,” continued Glenn, before adding a contemptuous “Please be respectful.” 

“Hi,” said Bruce nervously as Glenn marched back to his office, “How can I help you?”

“I wanted to check your computer and make sure your security systems and practices are up to protocol,” said Bianca.

Bianca was a strong woman who wore standard grey Gamma Futures security uniform with a nonstandard white belt that almost matched the color of her platinum blonde hair. Cat was slender by comparison and wore a black suit with a pencil skirt, which matched the color of her short hair. The sharp style made Bruce feel slightly insecure about his bulky glasses, baggy khakis, and loose dress shirt.

“Um,” stuttered Bruce nervously, “I’m sorry, but I’m really not supposed to do that unless you give me notice ahead of time. I don’t know if Glenn has briefed you on-”

“I know,” said Bianca, “I was hoping to perform a nonstandard check to get the hang of things around here.”

“I’m sorry,” shrugged Bruce, “but they make it really clear that we can’t do that. Send notice ahead of time with the head of your team and I’ll happily do it.”

“Understood,” said Bianca.

Bianca nodded to Cat and walked out of the room. Cat turned and smiled at Bruce again.

“And how can I help you?” he asked.

“Sorry if we made you nervous,” apologized Cat, “I know Bianca can be a bit of a bitch sometimes.”

“I didn’t-”

“Don’t worry,” said Cat, leaning against his desk like Betty had, “She’s like that to everyone.”

“Okay,” said Bruce uncomfortably, “Was there anything else?”

“I just wanted to chat,” said Cat, turning to face Bruce.

“I don’t mean to be rude,” said Bruce quietly as he sat back down, “but I do have a lot to do.”

“You don’t even have a few minutes?” asked Cat, placing a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. 

He immediately pulled away and looked at her sternly.

“I’m in a happy relationship,” he said.

“I know,” chuckled Cat, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Just being friendly is all.”

“Okay.”

Cat frowned and left.

***

“What are you doing?” askeded Silver as she walked into the hotel room.

“Eating,” responded Felicia, mouth full of gummy bears, “Found some stuff in the minibar.”

Silver scoffed. Felicia was lying on her bed in nothing but a black T-shirt, underwear, socks and a candy bag in her lap.

“What?” asked Felicia, swallowing, “After this job you’ll have plenty of money to pay for it.”

“The job isn’t done yet,” said Silver irritably, “And don’t you think you should be eating more consciously when on a mission like this?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” said Felicia, “Is it uncomfortable?”

“Is what uncomfortable?”

“The stick up your ass.”

“It’s called being a professional,” said Silver irritably, “and let’s stay on the topic at hand. Our first plan of attack didn’t work.”

“Sure didn’t!” laughed Felicia.

“You find this funny?”

“Kinda.”

“I don’t think you realize how much preparation has gone into this job,” hissed Silver, stepping angrily toward Felicia, “Two identities complete with full histories and references to get us these jobs, not to mention the months of research to have everything planned!”

“Oh,” dismissed Felicia, rolling her eyes, “Learn to adapt!”

“What!?”

“Jobs like this always go sideways at some point,” said Felicia, “How have you managed this long without learning to deal with that?”

“I DEAL with that,” said Silver slowly and angrily through gritted teeth, “by having a detailed and well-executed plan. Like the one you screwed up!”

Felicia thought for a moment. She knew Silver was stronger than her and didn’t want to push her any farther. It wouldn’t be the smart move. She decided to pivot the topic.

“Bruce isn’t getting us anywhere,” admitted Felicia, “Maybe we should change our mark.”

“HIS computer has the data we need,” said Silver impatiently, “We need HIS card and HIS password to get in. What other mark could get us that?”

“Well,” thought Felicia aloud, “if WE can’t get to him, maybe someone else can.”

Silver tilted her head in confusion. Felicia smiled and ate another gummy bear.

***

Felicia washed her hands and quickly dried them off with a paper towel. She reached into her jacket and pulled out some lipstick. She pretended to reapply it in the mirror, waiting. Then Betty emerged from the stall and walked up to wash her hands beside Felicia.

“Oh hi,” smiled Felicia cheerily, turning to Betty, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“I don’t believe we have,” smiled Betty back, drying her hands, “I’m Betty Ross. You’re finance’s new hire, right?”

“I am!” said Felicia, “My name is Catherine Black, but you can call me Cat.”

“Nice to meet you, Cat.”

“You’re dating that Dave Bennett guy from R&D, right?”

“Oh,” laughed Betty, slightly embarrassed, “Yeah, you’ve met?”

“We have,” nodded Felicia, “He’s a sweetheart.”

“He is, isn’t he?”

“You’re a lucky woman.”

Betty looked away for half a second, but then smiled and nodded. That half a second of hesitation was all Felicia needed to know.

“What’s wrong?” asked Felicia.

“Nothing.”

“Oh I’m so sorry,” said Felicia, affecting distress, “Did I say something wrong?”

“No!” insisted Betty emphatically, “I’m sorry, no! I was thinking about… Something else.”

“It’s okay,” assured Felicia, “I know what it’s like.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dating such a sweet guy,” continued Felicia, “People probably tell you how nice he is all the time, don’t they?”

“Yeah,” said Betty, somewhat surprised, “They do.”

“And I’m sure he is,” said Felicia, “but it’s frustrating when he’s doing something wrong and you’re irritated with him, because all of the sudden YOU’RE the bad guy since HE’S such a great boyfriend.”

“Right?!” said Betty, suddenly vilified, “Like, I like him and everything and don’t want to go around airing our dirty laundry, but why do people always assume he’s perfect?”

“Totally unfair.”

“Totally.”

“Hey,” smiled Felicia after a short pause, “I like talking to you! You wanna grab dinner or something after work?”

“Well,” considered Betty, “I’ll have to check with Bruce, but sure!”

“Great!” said Felicia as Betty walked to the door, “It’s a date.”

Betty froze in place for a moment, but then continued out the door without saying a word. Felicia smiled. She had her.

***

Felicia took another bite out of the tunafish sandwich. It was a decent sandwich. She disagreed with the choice of wheat bread instead of white, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. After all, she had stolen the sandwich out of the fridge. She grinned as she looked at the discarded plastic bag labeled “Bennett.”

Bruce slowly walked into the break room, looking about. Felicia didn’t acknowledge him, continuing to eat. Bruce eventually noticed the sandwich and cautiously approached Felicia.

“Excuse me,” he said quietly, “Cat, was it?”

“Yeah?” responded Felicia, not bothering to close her mouth or swallow first.

“Right.” said Bruce uncomfortably, “I believe what you have there is… Uh… _My_ lunch…”

“Huh,” said Felicia sarcastically, taking another bite, “How about that.”

“Do you think you could… Uh…”

Felicia kept staring him as she chewed the sandwich. She wasn’t giving it back. Bruce couldn’t bring himself to demand it from her, so he just shifted uncomfortably and adjusted his glasses while staring at her. 

“Cat!” shouted Silver, walking into the break room herself, “What the hell are you doing?”

Felicia just laughed, spraying crumbs and bits of tuna across the table.

“Oh,” muttered Bruce nervously, “Hi Bianca. It’s okay. I don’t want to cause any trouble. You can keep the sandwich, Cat.”

“Oh really?” smiled Felicia.

Still maintaining eye contact with Bruce, she shoved the sandwich back into the bag and tossed the whole thing into the nearby trash can. Bruce looked at the trash can solemnly before walking out of the room without another word. Silver glared at Felicia.

“Do you _want_ him to go berserk and kill us?” demanded Silver, “You remember what happens when he gets mad, right?”

“Oh relax,” dismissed Felicia, “He wasn’t anywhere close to that.”

“How can you tell?”

“I was testing him. Reading people’s emotions is part of what I do,” she said, “That dweeb is insecure, not angry.”

“How exactly does this get us closer to the data?” asked Silver.

“The better we know him, the better we can predict him. Right?” said Felicia.

“Yes,” said Silver impatiently, “Which is why I did hours of research and put together an entire dossier for him.”

“No kidding,” said Felicia with surprise.

“I gave it to you DAYS ago!” 

“What does it say?”

Silver scowled. Felicia shrugged.

“It says,” began Silver, trying to be patient, “That Bruce was an academically successful and quiet kid. He got bullied in high school and college - a lot. He dealt with repressed anger for much of his life and received very little treatment for it. He eventually graduated and joined a gamma radiation project that malfunctioned and gave him his… condition.”

“Sounds about right,” said Felicia.

“Read the whole file when we get back,” grunted Silver, walking off to return to her security post.

Felicia sighed. As much fun as it had been to pick on Bruce, she was still hungry and regretted throwing out the sandwich.

***

Silver sat at her work station in the hotel room, typing away at her laptop. She was filling out her mission log. Felicia was out, supposedly working on a new way to get access to Banner’s computer. Silver had her doubts that it would work, but for now she just had to trust her.

Silver closed her laptop and allowed a short yawn. It was nearing midnight and she wanted to get enough sleep to be alert the next day. She began undressing to get ready for bed. She was wearing only her white briefs and sports bra when the hotel door swung open.

“HARDY!” shouted Silver quietly, covering herself instinctively, “Knock first!! What’s wrong with you!?”

“I didn’t peg you for a bashful one,” scoffed Felicia as she sauntered over to her own bed.

“Did you make any progress?” huffed Silver, hurriedly putting on a T-shirt.

“Are those granny panties?” chuckled Felicia.

“Report,” said Silver firmly, face turning a subtle shade of pink.

“Ooh! Looks like I found SOMEONE’S sensitive spot!” teased Felicia.

“REPORT!”

“Alright fine,” said Felicia, “Yes, I’ve made progress. A lot of progress, actually. I think we’re ready to make the next move.”

“And what’s that?”

“Betty and I tell Bruce that she’s leaving him.”

“What?”

“Yup, I convinced her it was for the best,” said Felicia, “The breakup will be a good, long distraction. He won’t be taking the time to double check that he locked his computer. That’ll be your shot.”

“Wait, Betty’s going to break up with him?” asked Silver in disbelief.

“To be with me, yes. Not actually with me, of course. But she thinks so.”

“How’d you convince her to leave him?”

“Get this!” sneered Felicia, “Apparently Banner has been performing poorly in bed. Every time they get close to finishing, he insists they stop so he can catch his breath and calm down.”

“That’s interesting…” thought Silver aloud.

“Why’s that?”

“You still haven’t read the file!?” asked Silver with annoyance.

“Can’t say I have.”

“Well Bruce had a relationship before Betty,” explained Silver, “Before the whole relocation, actually. The man’s name is Jack McGee.”

“So?”

“So McGee worked for a medical journal,” said Silver, “Shortly after the two broke up, McGee published an article on erectile dysfunction. It doesn’t mention Bruce by name or anything but…”

“Sounds like this is a chronic problem for Banner,” realized Felicia.

“He’s probably trying to avoid inducing a transformation,” noted Silver, “It’s possible that the increased adrenaline that comes with sex risks transforming him.”

“Whatever. As far as Betty’s concerned he’s just a terrible lover.”

“So Betty’s really going to break up with him?”

“Yes.”

“At work?”

“Yes.”

“In front of you?”

“Yes.”

“Are you insane?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your plan is to take a man who becomes an unstoppable force of destruction whenever he gets mad,” explained Silver slowly, “and put him in an extremely stressful situation where he has every right to be furious with you.”

“Listen sweetheart,” said Felicia, resting her hands on her hips, “I know you probably don’t have a lot of experience with boys, but their emotions aren’t that complicated. I’ll be fine.”

“Watch it, Hardy!” barked Silver, “You’d do well to remember that I’m the one who brought you into this. Don’t make me regret it.”

“So are you going to put on pants, or...?” asked Felicia with a grin.

Silver grunted in anger and embarrassment as she stepped into a pair of sweatpants and hoisted them up to her waist, pulling the drawstring tight.

“You better know what you’re doing, Hardy.”

***

Returning from his lunch break, Bruce swiped his card and typed in his password. The monitor blinked on as Bruce looked over his abstract. It looked good. He opened the full article and checked each of his numbers as he went down. 

It had been made very clear to him that the report on this study had to be completely without error and securely communicated. He was only a small part of the study, but it was starting to look like they had discovered something big.

“Hey Bruce,” whispered Betty quietly over his shoulder.

Bruce turned to see her and smiled, only to notice the extremely serious look on her face.

“We need to talk,” she said solemnly.

“Alright,” nodded Bruce, turning back to his computer, “Let me just close this down real quick.”

“It’s urgent,” added Cat, who walked up beside Betty and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“What is-” began Bruce, before he noticed Betty tightly holding Cat’s other hand, “What are you…”

“Let’s talk in private,” whispered Betty.

Bruce was confused, but could tell something serious was going on. The three hurried out of the room and into a secluded part of the office. They stood there in awkward silence before Bruce spoke.

“What is it?” he asked in a hushed tone.

“Bruce,” began Betty carefully, “I’m breaking up with you.

Bruce’s heart sank. He was completely astounded. Then he saw that Felicia and Betty were still tightly clutching each other’s hands. His mind raced with confused thoughts as he tried to put them into words.

“Betty,” he said desperately, “You can’t be-”

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” she said, “This isn’t going to work out. You’re very sweet, but Cat’s been treating me well and we’re happy together.”

“Been?” asked Bruce, “As in, this has already been going on?”

“Yes,” nodded Cat, “For a few weeks now.”

“A few weeks!?” realized Bruce angrily, “Why wouldn’t you-”

He took a deep breath. His heart rate had spiked. Not good. He braced his hand against the wall and took a few more deep breaths in and out before returning his attention to Betty and Cat.

“Betty, I wish you had told me…” he said, “If I had known you were unhappy with me-“

“Don’t blame her,” insisted Cat, “I pressured her to keep quiet. If you want to be upset, be upset with me.”

Betty smiled warmly at Cat. Bruce clenched his fists, but cleared his mind and calmed himself down.

“Can I ask,” he began weakly, “Why?”

“It wasn’t so much one thing…” began Betty nervously.

“I thought you said it was because of the sex?” added Cat abruptly.

“Excuse me!?”

He couldn’t believe it. It was just like with Jack. He had to be so careful with his heart since the incident that sex had become a liability. He had tried to make it work, but without being able to tell them why he was having trouble...

“Sorry, Bruce.”

_Deep breaths,_ Bruce thought to himself, _It’s okay. I’ll be fine. I just need to remove myself from this situation. Then I can really think it through._

“I’m sorry I wasn’t the boyfriend you needed,” said Bruce sadly to Betty, “I don’t fully understand, but that’s okay. Maybe sometime we can grab a coffee and talk about it. I wish you two the best.”

_Walk away,_ he thought to himself, _Get yourself to a less stressful place so you can think this through._

“Wait, that’s it?” asked Cat, “You don’t have anything else to say?”

“No.”

“Not even to me?” demanded Cat, cutting Bruce off by getting in front of him, “I just stole your girlfriend! Because of how bad at sex you are!”

_Don’t react… Stay calm…_

“I just want to be alone,” said Bruce plainly.

Bruce walked out of the room. He could feel himself on the edge. The feelings of loss, failure, jealousy, and more surged through him. A visceral rush of stress and fear welled within his chest, but he kept his mind off the topic. He needed to clear his head. Then he could address his emotions. Right now if he wasn’t careful…

“Bennett!” shouted Glenn angrily.

Bruce looked up nervously. He had been looking at his feet the whole walk, trying to stay calm. Now he found himself looking at Glenn and several members of security, who held Bianca firmly by the arms beside his desk.

“What’s going on?” asked Bruce.

“I’ll tell you EXACTLY what’s going on, Bennett!” shouted Glenn, “You left the single most important file in our entire company right up on your computer. Bianca here damn near got away with the data!”

_Bianca,_ thought Bruce carefully, _Is she a spy or something?_

“Did you hear me, Bennett!?” demanded Glenn.

“Shit,” Bruce heard someone whisper behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Cat.

“That’s what you’re up to, isn’t it!?” yelled Bruce at Cat, “You did all of this to get me away from my computer!”

There were gasps and murmurs. Everyone in the office was looking at him now.

“Bennett!” shouted Glenn again.

“Glenn, listen to me!” insisted Bruce, “Cat’s in on it too!”

“David…” muttered Betty, disappointment in her voice, “Don’t do this…”

“Betty?” asked Bruce.

“I know this is hard,” she said, “but I really am leaving you for Cat. Don’t turn into a spiteful liar because of it.”

“I’m not-”

“Ha!” laughed Glenn, “Well I guess it was only a matter of time.”

“Glenn!” shouted Bruce desperately, “I’m serious! Look into this woman! I bet she’s working with-”

“No, Bennett,” said Glenn firmly, “I’m done with this. Clear out your desk.”

Bruce froze.

“What?”

“Clear. Out. Your. Desk,” repeated Glenn, “Your blatant disregard for security protocol is clearly a result of your instability. I can’t in good faith let you keep working here. You’re fired.”

“No!” cried out Bruce, “That’s not- Betty just left me, that’s why I-”

“Not my problem.”

“She left me!” he screamed, “She left me and now you’re firing me!! All because of something that isn’t my fault! I didn’t… I didn’t…”

Bruce caught himself just in time. He was sweating, his heart pounding so violently he could feel it in his temples, and he could feel every fiber of his being trembling. He had to stop. He had to calm down. He had to think about something else, but it was so hard. He felt so pathetic and exposed and the pressure just kept piling on. He was doing his best to hold it in, but was having trouble. He was slipping.

Suddenly, without warning, Cat sprinted up behind Bruce, and reached into the back of his pants. Bruce didn’t have any time to react before she yanked his purple boxer briefs as high as she could. Bruce shrieked in pain and indignance as he felt the cotton force its way into his crotch and up his butt. Laughter filled his ears as Cat shoved him to the ground. His glasses flew from his face and broke as they hit the floor. Bruce curled up into a ball of shame as he heard their laughter. He was mortified. He was devastated. He was angry.

Bruce’s eyes turned green.

***

Silver gripped her hands together tightly as the motorcycle beneath them rumbled with the engine. Felicia was driving and Silver had gotten on behind her, wrapped her arms around her torso, and clung on for dear life. She had never come so close to dying. 

They had been driving for hours. It was late at night now. No one had tried to pursue them. The authorities were otherwise occupied. Finally, Felicia pulled over under an empty freeway. Silver practically leapt off the bike with nervous energy.

“What were you thinking!?” demanded Silver.

“What?” scoffed Felicia, “No ‘thank you’?”

“That man,” continued Silver between stagnated heavy breathing, “is quite possibly the most dangerous human being on the planet, and you gave him a WEDGIE!?!”

“Give me a break, I was improvising!” defended Felicia, “Besides, it worked, didn’t it?”

“How do you figure?”

Felicia revealed a small black USB. Silver’s jaw dropped.

“You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“How?”

“Well,” explained Felicia, “I couldn’t distract Bruce for as long as I’d hoped, so I was worried he’d catch you in the act. When I saw you apprehended by security, I knew we had bigger problems. We needed an even bigger distraction if we were going to succeed. I noticed Bruce was struggling. That’s when it hit me: he hadn’t fully processed his emotions yet. I knew if I gave him one last push he’d go over the edge.”

“So you went with a schoolyard prank?”

“Public humiliation,” shrugged Felicia, “It works on most people. Anyway, while everyone else was running and screaming, I finished what you started and got the data.”

“I’ve underestimated you, Hardy,” grinned Silver, “Maybe this partnership has a future after all.”

“Maybe it does.”

“One thing though.”

“Yeah?”

“If you even think about pulling some sort of prank like that on me,” said Silver intensely, “It will be the last goddamn thing you ever do.”

***

Bruce groaned. He felt miserable. A dull ache weighed down on his head as he fought back nausea and watched the small tremor that had developed on his right hand. Transforming like that always took a toll on his body, somewhat like a hangover. He looked around the dark, windowless room he had been asked to wait in. The authorities had provided him a set of clothes to change into, but hadn’t talked to him other than that. He had no idea what was going to happen next.

He looked up as he heard the door open.

“Jen?”

“Bruce,” said Jennifer with a hint of relief, “Thank God you’re okay. They told me no one was hurt but I wasn’t sure if-”

“It’s okay,” assured Bruce, “I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

“I’m your legal representation,” she said, sitting across from him and placing her briefcase on the table.

“Jen, you don’t have to-”

“I’m doing it,” she said firmly pulling a notebook out of her briefcase, “The good news is S.H.I.E.L.D. set a legal precedent for this kind of thing last time. So since there was no death or serious injury, you should be exempt from most charges.”

“That’s good news.”

“It is,” nodded Jennifer, “However, we’ll still have to go through some standard proceedings and I’ll be representing you. Why don’t you start by telling me what happened? What initiated the transformation?”

Bruce shifted in his chair, uncomfortable sharing such an embarrassing memory. He trusted Jennifer though, so he told her everything. Throughout it all, she didn’t say a word. She just kept nodding and biting her lip harder and harder. As the story finished Bruce saw her press her pen into her notepad so hard that the tip snapped off.

“What did these women look like?” asked Jen quietly, her voice trembling.

“Why is that important?” asked Bruce concernedly.

“Because,” said Jen as her eyes turned green, “I’m going to find them and make them pay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to see Felicia be unreasonably cruel to sweet, soft men is all


End file.
